Newsletter Vol. 4 # 3 – May 15, 2011

Greetings,

Welcome to Volume 4, Issue #2 of Guitar Noise News!

In This Issue:

  • Greetings, News and Announcements
  • Guitar Noise Featured Artist
  • Topic of the Month
  • New Articles, Lessons, Reviews and Stuff
  • Great Advice from Great Teachers
  • Events Horizon
  • Random Thoughts

Greetings, News and Announcements

A happy middle of May to all! And, once again, welcome to the latest issue of Guitar Noise News, the free twice-a-month newsletter from Guitar Noise (www.guitarnoise.com).

This is starting to sound like a broken record (or a skipping CD?) but we’re still making more progress on the lessons front in regard to dealing with some of the publishers. Still slow, too, as you undoubtedly know! It’s more than a bit maddening because we keep thinking it’s going to happen almost any day now and each time there just seems to be one more issue to deal with. We’re persevering, though and, as always, both Paul and I thank you all for both your support and your patience through all this. One thing all this has made us decide is to not wait until the first or fifteenth to make the announcement when things finally fall into place. As soon as we know, you’ll know!

Guitar Noise Featured Artist

Since he’s turning seventy in a matter of days, it seemed a no-brainer to make Bob Dylan our Guitar Noise Featured Artist of the Month for May. We have yet to repeat an “artist of the month,” but both Paul and I think that this occasion warrants the attention. Find out more about this highly influential guitarist and songwriter on the Guitar Noise Profile Page.

Topic of the Month

Being, first and foremost, a website dedicated to teaching people all over the world the wonders of making music with the guitar, we’re thrilled to inform you that our Guitar Noise “Topic of the Month for May is “Teaching Guitar.”

During your next visit to the Guitar Noise home page, click on the “Topic of the Month” up in the top left corner, just below the blue banner and check out all the great tips and information we have for you.

New Articles, Lessons, Reviews and Stuff

In case you missed it last time, longtime Guitar Noise contributor and all around nice guy Nick Minnion has launched a new guitar teaching website called “Secret Guitar Teacher. Nick’s first website was aimed principally at Guitar Teachers while this new site is for anyone wanting to learn or improve their guitar playing.

One top of all that, Nick’s brought us two pieces this month. The first is a video lesson on the CAGED system and the second is a bit of reflection on Bob Dylan, which goes nicely with Dylan being our featured artist this month.

Cracking The CAGED System
by Nick Minnion

Nick Minnion shares his secrets of working out the CAGED system on guitar in these two videos he’s made.

Me and Bob Go Back A Long Ways
by Nick Minnion

In some ways, Bob Dylan taught a lot of us how to play guitar. Here Nick Minnion recounts his early experiences as a young musician playing Bob Dylan covers.

How To Practice Your Musical Instrument
by Tom Serb

Students at Tom’s music school receive a booklet called How to Practice Your Musical Instrument. Here are some practice tips that apply to guitar.

That Looks Familiar!
by David Hodge

There are a lot of websites out there now that simply grab articles from other websites and post them as their own, without giving credit where it’s due. But sometimes people will do the right thing!

Great Advice From Great Teachers

We’re getting some great advice from some of the many great teachers of the the Guitar Noise community to bring you every newsletter, which is especially appropriate since our current “Topic of the Month” is teaching guitar! Longtime Guitar Noise contributor and Forum Moderator Alan Green continues his column about how to go about becoming a guitar teacher. While his narrative deals with the nuances of teaching guitar in England, there is still plenty of help for those of us living outside the British Isles!

Making a living as a guitar teacher by Alan Green – Part 2

Episode 3 – Getting work

If you read the first episodes, you’ll remember that I’d got some work in an Investment Bank, during which time I’d auditioned for the local Education Authority’s Music Services team and we’d agreed to start working together.

Tip number 5 – Getting the Music Services job doesn’t guarantee you any work

That’s an interesting statement; let’s look at how it works.

Some County Music Services teams will phone you and say “Can you do this day at such and such a School?” Either you can, or you can’t, and if you can’t then do say what days and times you can do. Where I’m based, there is a newsletter that comes out just before the end of the School Term, listing the vacancies available for the next term. Luckily, Kathy, my partner, was at home the day the first newsletter came in and she sent it to me at work.

I got a bit excited when I read the vacancies list; three schools local to me all looking for guitar tutors. I replied to Music Services that I’d take them, and when I got a reply with the phone numbers and contact names I started phoning round. By the end of the day I’d filled three mornings so I dropped Music Services a note to let them know.

There was a fourth school, but they were difficult to get hold of and wanted to fill up another morning whilst I wanted to fill some afternoons; I spoke to Music Services and they told me about another guitar tutor they had who wanted that school himself and was looking to drop two smaller schools to fit them in. I called the guy; we arranged a swap – he took the school I was after because it was close to where he lives and I took the two smaller schools he wanted to drop. Fortune favours the brave; five schools. I was still looking…

Let me tell you this – some schools are fairly relaxed about things, and some have ideas. Music Services were very clear about it; the entire syllabus was my choice. The Thursday Morning School’s admin people, on the other hand, had one very specific instruction – “We don’t want students learning pop songs from Tab” they said, but they softened up a lot when I played my ace card; “I have a Distinction at Classical Guitar Grade 8” I told them. “That’s all right then” they said.

So, it had been a successful few days. There was one other school, but they had already decided they wanted a guitar teacher with “Qualified Teacher Status” – it’s what you need to be allowed to teach curriculum in classrooms here – and my 30-odd years of playing, performing and teaching experience simply wasn’t enough.

I told my boss at the Investment Bank I was going part time at the start of the September term. He didn’t care; he’d just resigned to go travelling in Africa.

Episode 4 – “You must be Eddie”

“Yep,” he replied.

“Come on in, Eddie, and join the party,” I said, and he sat down. “Tell me, Eddie; have you got a guitar?”

“Yep,” he replied.

“Okay,” I said; “where is it?”

“It’s at home,” he said; “I didn’t think I’d need it today.”

Thus went my first conversation with my first student at my first School on my first day as a visiting guitar teacher. The School had some guitars, but they were strung right-handed and Eddie is a left-hander; so that first lesson was a bit of an improvisation.

I went to get my second student. “He’s sick today,” said his class teacher.
A great start to my new career. Luckily, the School had loaded me up with 12 students for 12 lessons each, so I was cautiously optimistic about the place. I survived.

The School for that afternoon was one I’d taken in the swap with the other guy. He said there was about 45 minutes work there; three students.

Tip number 6 – Get friendly with the School Admin team. They put your details on the School Newsletter which is how the kids and their parents pick up on the fact that they can get guitar lessons at the School.

The ladies in the office had done a terrific job; seven students (and by the end of that term I had eight there.)

Tip number 7 – If you take sugar in your coffee, have some sweeteners in your bag. If you’re a man, it’s 90% certain that you’ll be the only man working at that school apart from the caretaker, and 99.99999999% certain you’ll be the only one who takes sugar in your coffee.

What a day.

I got a call from the Music Services people. “We’ve had a tutor drop out, can you take another School?” I called the School and went to see them. Six Schools, tick in the box.

Events Horizons

Tom McLaughlin’s group Slightly Offensive returns to The Tilted Kilt in Chicago Ridge, Illinois this coming Tuesday, May 17 for what should be a very fun night of great music.

And for those of you in England, try to catch The Wishing Well, a terrific Australian group that will be in England the rest of the month of May. This Thursday, May 19, they’ll be at The Dulcimer in Manchester (567 Wilbraham Road) for a 9 PM show.

Then they’ll be at The Black Swan in York (23 Peaseholme Green) on Saturday, May 21 at 9 PM.

The following week they’ll be at The Black Market Venue in Warsop (43 High Street) on Wednesday, May 25 and The Jolly Brewer in Lincoln (27 Broadgate) on Friday, May 27. Both shows are also 9 PM starts.

Saturday, May 28 they’ll be playing at the Off the Tracks Music Festival at the Donington Park Farmhouse in Derby. And then they wrap up the month of May with a show at The Stables in Milton Keynes (Stockwell Lane) on Tuesday, May 31. This show starts at 8 PM.

Random Thoughts

This newsletter is, unfortunately, going to have to be one of our occasional short ones. And hopefully we’ll be able to get into all the reasons why next time!

Untill then, play well and play often.

And, as always,

Peace